{"id":36988,"date":"2024-04-10T10:00:16","date_gmt":"2024-04-10T17:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=36988"},"modified":"2024-03-21T21:13:06","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T04:13:06","slug":"identity-and-connection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/identity-and-connection\/","title":{"rendered":"Identity and Connection"},"content":{"rendered":"

My son was diagnosed with autism in 2004, at the age of 5. I would tell people, \u201cMy son has autism.\u201d I would not say, \u201cMy son is autistic.\u201d There is a subtle difference between these two statements. One is descriptive. \u201cMy son has blue eyes. My son has blond hair. My son has autism.\u201d The other refers to identity. We found out three years ago that my daughter also is autistic. She prefers to speak of it as identity. More and more, those who have autism are speaking about it in terms of identity. There are no longer considered to be degrees of autism. You either are autistic, or you are not. In the ever increasing options of connectivity, people are seeking connection. Bren\u00e9 Brown writes, \u201cConnection is why we’re here. We are hardwired to connect with others, it’s what gives purpose and meaning to our lives, and without it there is suffering.\u201d[i]<\/a><\/p>\n

We seek connection, yet we do not know how to connect. I think this stems from the problem of identity and it explains why we so desperately seek out ways to identify ourselves with others. In his book The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution<\/em>, Carl R. Trueman writes, \u201cEvery age has had its darkness and its dangers. The task of the Christian is not to whine about the moment in which he or she lives but to understand its problems and respond appropriately to them.\u201d[ii]<\/a> Identity, or maybe the lack of identity is one of the problems of the post-modern world.<\/p>\n

Trueman writes a narrative of the history of the sexual revolution, citing its roots farther back than most people realize.<\/p>\n

Central to my argument has been the notion that the LBGTQ+ issues that now dominate our culture and our politics are simply symptoms of a deeper revolution in what it means to be a self. The LGBTQ+ movement arises out of the sexual revolution, and the sexual revolution arises out of the kinds of philosophical ideas and trends that can be traced from Rousseau through the Romantics to Freud and then the New Left.[iii]<\/a><\/p>\n

The concept of identity is key to understanding the sexual revolution. \u201cBut the LBGTQ+ discussion is much deeper than that because it connects to matters of identity, of who we think we are at the most basic level. And the problem is that expressive individualism, manifested as sexual identity, is the way the world shapes us all.\u201d[iv]<\/a><\/p>\n

I see in my children\u2019s generation a fluidity in gender identity. My daughter has one friend who has changed her\/their name so many times that I cannot remember what to call them. Yet, if I try and call this person by their given name, it is considered insulting, even if I am just talking to my daughter about them. That name is their \u201cdead name.\u201d My daughter has another friend who goes by both male and female names that can be switched up on a whim. He\/She\/They consider himself\/herself\/themselves gender fluid. This friend will dress masculine or feminine depending on mood. I am trying to learn, trying to be sensitive, trying to be understanding. Honestly, I do not get it. To me, gender refers to biology \u2013 either XX or XY chromosomes. To my daughter and her friends, gender refers to identity.<\/p>\n

Trueman\u2019s book has fascinated me. Learning about the history and seeing how far back the story goes reminds me of Ecclesiastes 1:9, \u201cThere is nothing new under the sun.\u201d Trueman writes, \u201cUnderstanding the times is a precondition of responding appropriately to the times. And understanding the times requires a knowledge of the history that has led up to the present.\u201d [v]<\/a> I wonder how we might use an understanding of this history and the times in which we live to make an impact? We are made in the image of God. What does this mean to someone struggling to find identity based in sexuality? How share the love of God with a community that has been so hurt by the church that they want nothing to do with God?<\/p>\n

In his conclusion, Trueman writes, \u201cEach of us is, in a sense, the sum total of the network of relationships we have with others and with our environment.\u201d [vi]<\/a> It is in our relationships that we find identity and connection. For me, the answer to sharing the love of God rests in being a presence in my community, in stepping out and loving my neighbor. I leave you with this quote by Bob Goff:<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the kind of love that God created and demonstrated is a costly one because it involves sacrifice and presence. It\u2019s a love that operates more like a sign language than being spoken outright.\u201d[vii]<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

[i]<\/a> Bren\u00e9 Brown, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead<\/em>, (New York: Penguin Random House, 2012), 8.<\/p>\n

[ii]<\/a> Carl R. Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution<\/em>. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020), 30.<\/p>\n

[iii]<\/a> Trueman, 384-385.<\/p>\n

[iv]<\/a> Trueman, 390.<\/p>\n

[v]<\/a> Trueman, 31.<\/p>\n

[vi]<\/a> Trueman, 404.<\/p>\n

[vii]<\/a> Bob Goff, Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World<\/em>. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2012), 9.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My son was diagnosed with autism in 2004, at the age of 5. I would tell people, \u201cMy son has autism.\u201d I would not say, \u201cMy son is autistic.\u201d There is a subtle difference between these two statements. One is descriptive. \u201cMy son has blue eyes. My son has blond hair. My son has autism.\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2427],"class_list":["post-36988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-trueman","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36988"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36989,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36988\/revisions\/36989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}